Carload adjusting means



April 10, 1951 E. PRATl 1 CARLOAD ADJUSTING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 7. 1946 INVENTOR. ENR/CO PRA 1-/ ATTORNEY April 10, 1951 v E. PRATI 2,

CARLOAD ADJUSTING MEANS Filed Oct. 7, 1946 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 vl2 4/- 62 .fligLEl r -5. /54 5 1 ENE/co f ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 10, 1 951 STATES PATENT :orelace' v2',54s,o57 CARLOAD' AD'JUSTINGFMEANS" Enrico Prati, Asti, Calif; Applicationflctober 7, 1946',"S'erial No: 7013709 2 v Fig; 4 isa' perspective view of -a "portion of the auxiliary'floor 'shownrin Figs; 1 and 2;

Fig; 5"isan enlarged fragmentary detail of 'a U portion of .7 the r auxiliary floor;

from'end toendwith 'no space'remaining for the load to shift while'thecar-isin 'transitf Even azload'whic'h is' comparativelytightly packedwill have some sp'acemetw'een it's individual units: Some units, such for-example as fibreboard cartons or cases; are sufliciently" compressible to permit the entire load' to move toward one end of 'th'e car 'intransitg- This results ina space at the opposite end oithe car" or at some point throughout its length. In manycases;the space' so formed -is'"-large-enough" to permit some of the u'ni-ts to-leanor fall but of the r properplace and, upon subsequent shifting of the load in'the" oppositedirection to be crushed or damaged. The consequent losses are particularly great where the *cases -contain bottled liquids because breakageof-"b'ottles causes wetting of the fibre board 'cases'wh ich often makes thein slump and destroys the-symmetry and solidity of'the en: tire load.

It is an object of-the present 'invention'to provide-"means for eliminatin the losses which occur in the above describedm'anner and parti'cu1arly-to"'-provide means for adjustingia car load to compact it preparatory to tran'sitand toloosen'it-for unloading. A further objectof the-invention is to-provide' means'by which the contents of a" fully-loaded 'carcan be adjusted from the exteriohofth'e car. Stillfurth'er and morespecific "objects "and advantages of the .in-.. vention' are made apparent in thec following de-fl scription wherein reference. is made-t. to the lace companyin'g; drawings for. aa detailed disclosure of the invention.

In the'draw-ings:

Fig; 1 "is-a horizontal sectional view through an refrigerator carequipped with a'load adjusting means-:accordingcto the present' invention;

Fig; ta. central: vertical longitudinal section; through. i the same: car;

Fig. 3 -is an enlarged transversersection through;

a portioneot the car;

Fig. 6 is an enlargedxfragmentary sectional view-taken on line 'VI' VI'of Big." 1;

Figia7' is a section on': line VIIVII of Fig. 6;

Fig. 18:is anenlargediidetail of a ratchet and.

pawl .mechanism shown in Fig.1: 1 and r Fig: 9 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modification :of a part "of "theinvention shown in Fig; 2.

Theinvention is illustrated in the: drawings as appliedtto 'alrefrigerator. car which'has sidewalls lfi,"endwallsil I, at bottom |2iand a top l3; Ice bunkers*il'lustrated rat f I 4 are iformed in: opposite ends "of the car fin a=iconventional manner by the the bunkers :and the-:freightfin; the "car; The invention is equally "well adapted xto a common box carecthat does notfhave'iicecbunkers at its ends andv the i manner in; which :it will be applied to such a cariwill believidentsfrom'san understand ing' of'ithe present: disclosure:

In loading .a ;.carif-withw cartons or' cases; the

load is 2 stacked beginning 7 from t opposite ends and? progressing (toward: the --:center of the car where accessrdoors: l'9iare "provided, In: order to adjust for compact the "loadafter the =-car has been fully-loaded; the &present :invention provides a pusher p1ate-2n adjacent. one end of the car or adjacent one of, the ice-bunker :partitions l6 'which forms v-the end wallof the'space within the.car-to beloadede Thisplate 201s arranged to be advanced slowly but forcibly towardrthel opposite end of the car and therefore to engage and slide the loadtoward the opposite end of :the car until all. of the units of the carzare compactly arrangedthereind The plate 20: may engage the floor rack 26. as well as-the load but'the result' of .compactingthe load will be substantiallythe same; In order to. advance the plate=.2il-:which is'preferably of heavysheet metal .or other rigid construction, the platehas, asshownin Fig. 6; a 'pair of tubularimembers -21 secured to it-and 1 extending through the bunker l6 toward the end fifiitends transversely of-the carwithin the lubricant case 25. The rod 28 has ends 29 (see Fig. 1) preferably squared for the reception of a wrench or the like and extending outwardly a short distance beyond the side walls of the car. A tube 30 (see Fig. 6) extends between the case 25 and the bunker wall l6 to protect exposed portions of the mechanism just described, and preferably a rigid angular member 33 (see Figs. 6 and '7) is disposed over each of the tubes 30 for further protection against damage by large chunks of ice as the bunker is being filled by depositing ice through doors or hatches, not shown, conventionally arranged in the roof of the car. When the car has been completely loaded from end to end with tiers of cases or boxes, the pusher plate 26 is advanced to adjust the load or to slide all of the cases or boxes to the opposite end of the car, thus taking up the small spaces which exist between the cases and so compacting the load that it is impossible for it to slide materially in a lengthwise direction when the car is in transit. This adjustment of the load is accomplished by rotating the shaft 28 which carries the worms 21 from either of its ends 29. As the worms are in mesh with the worm gears 26, the screws 23 may in this manner be rotated to advance the nuts 22 longitudinaly and thus also to advance the pusher plate 29 in a longitudinal direction with relation to the car. The shaft 29 may be rotated by any suitable ratchet wrench or by an electrically powered wrench engageable with the squared ends of the shaft. Rotation of the shaft 29 in one direction will tighten or compact the load longitudinally of the car in a manner to prevent endwise shifting. Rotation of the same shaft in the opposite direction will relieve the pressure which compacts the load so that it will be loosely positioned within the car to facilitate its removal unit by unit in the conventional manner through the doorway l9.

With certain types of loads and particularly loads of light weight the construction so far described will be adequate for the purpose of preventing endwise shifting of the car. However,

with car loads of heavy cased goods such as bottled liquids or canned fruit products the tremendous weight of the load itself may resist adjustment in the manner and by the means described, and furthermore when the adjusting means is retracted for unloading a load of heavy cases the load may remain so compactly arranged as to interfere with its convenient removal from the center of the car.

It is conventional practice in cars of this kind to provide auxiliary floors in the form of racks made in sections and overlying the main car fioOr. According to the present invention, an auxiliary floor is provided which is made up of sections or racks capable of adjustment longitudinally within the car in a manner and for a purpose to be made apparent. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the car of the present invention is provided with four pairs of floor racks 36, 31, 38 and 39. Each of the several floor racks is made up of timbers such as two by fours illustrated at 49 (see also Fig. 4) and in some cases plate. members 4| at one edge of the rack. Tie bolts 42 extend through all of thetimbers in each rack at spa'ced intervals and spacing members 43 are interposed between the adjacent timbers in each rack to hold them in properly spaced relation when nuts on-the ends of the tie bolts are drawn tight. Each rack is provided .with angular members 44 at its side ad acent the car wall and these angular memb rs 4 are perforated as at 45 in Fig. 4 to receive pipes or bars 46 as illustrated in Fig. 1 which extend longitudinally of the car. The bars 46 are supported adjacent the car walls by eye bolts 41. As the bars 46 extend through the perforations 45 in the angles 44, the racks are free to slide longitudinally of the car and are also free to be swung upwardly against the car walls In to the broken line position shown at 48 in Fig. 3. In this position they may be secured as by hooks 49 pivoted to the walls of the car for that purpose. The position of the floor racks shown in broken lines in Fig. 3 is provided for their disposal when an auxiliary floor is not required in the car. In order that the racks when in such out of the way position will not obstruct the doorways I9, the timbers of adjacent sets of racks are staggered with relation to each other as illustrated in Fig. 1 so that the two sets of racks 36 and 31 may be advanced or telescoped in a right hand direction toward one end of the car while the racks 3B and 39 may be advanced to a telescoped position in a left hand direction toward the opposite end of 9 Because of means presently to be described, the racks 36 and 31 can not conveniently the car.

All of the floor racks are supported on rollers' for sliding movement or adjustment longitudinah 1y of the car and these rollers, shown at 5| in Figs. 1 and 2, may be carried in recesses in the fioOr' of the car with suitable metal strips as indicated at 53 to provide bearing support. The rolls may be made of heavy pipe or bar stock as desired. A modified form of roller is shown in Fig. 9 whererollers 54 are carried in bearings 55 secured directly to the timbers 40 of the floor rack to bear upon the surface of the floor l2. With all of the floor racks in a horizontal position as shown" in Fig. 1, the car may be fully loaded with its contents resting on these racks and, when the pusher plate 20 at one end of the car is advanced toward the opposite end, the load thus supported on sets of racks capable of sliding longitudinally of the car will be more readily adjusted upon movement of the plate 20 and will move toward the opposite end of the car in four separate sections. This overcomes the greater part of the friction that would be encountered'if the plate 20 were advanced to move a full car load that was not so supported.

In addition to the means just described for advancing the load toward one end of the car, retraction of the plate 2|] to loosen the load when the car is to be unloaded effects retraction of one-half of the load, or that portion of the load supported on the floor racks 36 and 31, away from the center of the car without moving the other half of the load. The load is thus split or opened centrally to facilitate removal of its units through the doorways [9. This is accomplished by hooks shown in Figs. 1 and 2 which are pivotally supported adjacent the lower edge of the plate 20 and which ride on the bottom of the car in notches which have upwardly inclined portions 6|. When the plate 20 is advanced to the left as viewed in Fig. 2 the hooks 60 will ride up the'incline 6| until their hooked ends are in position for engagement with the tie bars 42 atthe right ends of the racks 36. Thus, upon retraction of the plate 20 the racks 36 are engaged' and retracted with it. The racks 36 are also connected with the racks 37. Each rack 36 has one long timber Ella provided with a notch 52 which, as shown in Fig. 5, embraces the tie bar 32 in the corresponding adjacent rack 3i. This notch is elongated to permit relative telescoping movement of the racks 36 and 31 toward each other but when the rack 98 is withdrawn or moved to the right as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, the end of the notch engages the spacer 63 which surrounds the tie bar =32 of the rack 3i and the racks 3? are in this manner also retracted away from the center of the car when the plate 39 is retracted. When the load has been placed in the car and the plate 20 advanced to compact it, it is preferable to hold at least one of the rack supporting rollers 5i against rotation and. this may be accomplished by a ratchet 65 as shown in Figs. 1 and 8 secured to a squared end of the roller 5! and having a pivoted pawl 66 engageable therewith to prevent rotation of the roller in a load loosening direction. The ratchet 65 is shown as disposed outside the car and carried at the end 5i of a roller that has been extended through the wall of the car. The pawl 66 is likewise pivoted to the exterior of the car wall. Similar ratchet and pawl mechanisms may if desired be employed at either end of the shaft 29 to prevent its rotation after the can load has been compacted though this may not in all-cases be necessary because the pitch of the worm gears 26 may be such as to prevent them from operating in a reverse direction except when the shaft 28 is rotated.

I claim: 7

1. In a freight car or the like, an auxiliary floor comprising floor racks formed in sections moveable with relation to each other longitudinally of the car, whereby a load of freight supported on said racks may be adjusted lengthwise of the car by pressure exerted from one end of the load.

2. In a freight car or the like, an auxiliary floor comprising floor racks formed in sections moveable with relation to each other longitudinally of the car, whereby a load of freight sup ported on said racks may be adjusted lengthwise of the car by pressure exerted from one end of the load and anti-friction means between the racks and the car floor.

3. In a freight car or the like, an auxiliary floor comprising a plurality of floor racks adapted to support freight and adjustable longitudinally of the car with relation to each other, and means adjacent an end of the car adapted to be advanced toward its opposite end for adjusting the compactness of freight supported on said racks.

4. In a freight car or the like which has an opening centrally of its length for loading and unloading freight, floor racks for supporting freight in the car and adjustable longitudinally thereof, means within the car adjacent one end for compressing a load of freight supported on said racks, means for retracting said compressing means, and means operable upon such retraction for adjusting the floor racks on one side only of said central opening to facilita e nloading o the freight.

(iii

5. In a freight car or the like with a central access opening, freight supporting racks overlying the car floor, rollers supporting the racks for adjustment lengthwise of the car, a load compressing means operable from one end of the car to move the freight and racks by which it is supported in sections toward the opposite end of the car, means for retracting the load compressing means, and means operable upon retraction thereof to engage the racks between the said one end of the car-and the center to facilitate unloading of the car from the central access openmg.

6. In a freight car or the like the combination of a load engagin and compressing means disposed at one end of the car, and a plurality of load supporting floor racks, disposed for sliding movement on the car floor, to permit compression of the load in sections smaller than the full car load.

7. In a freight car or the like the combination of a load compressing means arranged to compact the load by pressure upon one end thereof and means for supporting the load in separate section independently movable lengthwise of the car.

8. Means for compacting a load in a cargo space to prevent shifting of the load in transit Which comprises a plurality of load supporting members, means supporting said members for movement parallel to and relative to the floor of the cargo space and relative to each other, and load compressing means adjacent one side of said space to compress the load toward an opposite side thereof and in the direction of movement of said load supporting members.

9. Means for compactin a load in a cargo space to prevent shiftin of the load in transit which comprises a plurality of load supporting members, means supporting said members for movement parallel to and relative to the floor of the cargo space and relative to each other, and load compressing means adjacent one side of said space to compress the load toward an opposite side thereof and in the direction of movement of said load supporting members, said load supporting means including anti-friction means interposed in supporting relationship between the load supporting members and the floor of the cargo space.

ENRICO PRATI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,165,573 Cutler et al Dec. 28, 1915 1,166,354 Cutler et a1 Dec. 28, 1915 1,304,023 Coleman May 20, 1919 1,506,462 Thompson Aug. 26, 1924 1,753,400 Bryson Apr. 8, 1930 2,017,301 Wynn Oct. 15, 1935 2,056,815 Wynn Oct. 6, 1936 

